Economic

Over the decades, India has urged the UN to play a more central and effective role in pursuing a more equitable international order and an economic environment that is conducive to rapid economic growth and development in developing countries. India remains committed to seeking equity, policy space and real voice and participation for developing countries in global governance.

India has been a major partner of the UN specialized agencies and funds and programmes on development issues and has been one of the bigger contributors to their core funding from developing countries.

India has played an active role in support of the special needs of the Least Developed Countries (LDCs), Landlocked Developing Countries (LLDCs) and Small Island Developing States (SIDS), both at the UN as well as bilaterally as part of the support extended to these countries under South-South Cooperation.

India\'s approach to South - South Cooperation has been therefore to share this experience and knowledge in a spirit of solidarity with countries from the South treading similar paths of socio - economic development. South - South Cooperation has therefore been integral to India’s foreign policy and diplomacy from the very beginning. Presently India a vibrant and large - scale programme of cooperation with all 48 Least Developed Countries across Africa, in our neighborhood in Asia and across the GRULAC region. It spans the entire spectrum of human activity such as agriculture development, information technology, irrigation, aquaculture, disaster management, remote sensing, telemedicine, textile engineering, accounting and finance, clean technologies, rural development, and SMEs. Along with Brazil and South Africa, we have also partnered in the IBSA Fund Initiative , which has been a flagship project under the overall canvas of South South cooperation. Several key developmental projects including rural electrification through solar energy systems in Guinea Bissau, improving the health infrastructure services for Children in Cambodia, rehabilitation of health centers and water desalination projects in Cape Verde, capacity building projects in Sierra Leone, besides several others in Palestine, Burundi, Lao PDR and Vietnam have been concluded under the IBSA Fund.

More recently, India contributed a sum of US$ 250,000/ - for the organization of the Third International Conference on SIDS and its preparatory meetings. India has also made a contribution of US$ 100,000/- for the organization of the 2nd UN Conference on LLDCs.

India is fully committed to the promotion and pursuit of sustainable development, with balanced emphasis on the economic, social and environmental pillars. India believes that as the greatest global challenge, poverty eradication is an indispensable requirement for sustainable development and that environmental concerns cannot be viewed in isolation from developmental imperatives of developing countries. India also believes that the Rio principle of common but differentiated responsibilities remains the cornerstone of international cooperation on sustainable development, as reaffirmed by Heads of States and Governments at the Rio+20 Conference and by several other recent UN Conferences and events.

For developing countries like India, the issue of climate change goes beyond environmental sustainability and directly impacts their overriding priorities of development and poverty eradication. India believes that the global efforts to address climate change must be in full accordance with the principles and provisions of the Convention, in particular the principles of ‘equity’ and ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’.

India is engaged constructively in multilateral negotiations under the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action of the UNFCCC and looks forward to its comprehensive, balanced and equitable outcome at the 21st Conference of Parties in Paris in 2015. India believes that the remit of the Durban Platform is the enhanced implementation of the Convention in the post - 2020 period, not the renegotiation or reinterpretation of its principles and provisions.

India was an active member of the Open Working Group (OWG) which concluded its work recently with a proposal for Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The report of the OWG which recommends a set of 17 goals spread across the social, economic and environmental dimensions of sustainable development with poverty eradication as its central objective and means of implementation integrated across and within each goal is a carefully balanced document which reflects painstaking engagement among member states and other stakeholders over the past 18 months. India believes that the work of this transparent and inclusive intergovernmental process should now form the basis for integrating the SDGs into the Post-2015 Development Agenda.

India looks forward to engaging constructively in the intergovernmental negotiations slated to begin during 69th GA for the adoption of the Post - 2015 Development Agenda. India believes that the Post 2015 development agenda must fully respect the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. Eradication of poverty must be the central and overarching goal of the Post - 2015 Development Agenda and it must emphasize the promotion of rapid and sustained economic growth in developing countries as part of a holistic and balanced approach to sustainable development. The Post 2015 development agenda must build on the MDGs and should have a strengthened global partnership to support the efforts of developing countries.

India also looks forward to the Third International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD) to be held in Addis Ababa in July 2015 as an opportunity to redouble efforts to mobilize and provide enhanced financial and systemic support to developing countries for eradicating poverty and achieving sustainable development.

India is strongly supportive of the proposal to create a Technology Facilitation Mechanism under the auspices of the UN, as provided for in the outcome document of the Rio+20 Conference and subsequently recommended by two reports by the Secretary General. Discussions on Post-2015 Development Agenda should build upon the Structured Dialogues on the creation of a Technology Facilitation Mechanism held during 68th GA in order to achieve a concrete outcome in this regard.